I am new to the forum and hoping for some advice on what could be happening with Fisher.

Unfortunately, I was not very well educated on betta fish care when I first got him, and as a result I wasn't treating his water. I did change it weekly, letting it sit for 24 hours before putting him in (in a 2.5 gallon, heated tank) but he developed fin rot and became extremely pale, I think due to ammonia levels. Since then, I've treated him with maracyn-two and he improved drastically, and I've added water conditioners and aquarium salt to my routine/have bought a test kit and make sure the parameters stay in the normal range. However, he seems to list to one side/swim crookedly, and now he seems to build several bubble nests which are scattered in the center of the tank (before he got sick, he only built them in corners or along the side). I also don't see any fin growth, though it's been about two weeks since the maracyn cycle ended. He did lose a lot of his fins (he had been biting them before, so the fin rot disposed of most of the fins he had left). Do you think it could just be that he's off-balance until his fins grow in? is there anything I can do to help him along?

Hi! Thank you for your reply. I'm now using amquel and novaqua every time I change his water. I sometimes put him in a smaller tank while switching him, and that water i treat with splendid betta, as it's easier to dose for the smaller tank.

I was just watching him for a bit and it seems like he can't swim downwards, and that is why he keeps contorting and listing. I've attached a photo (if I did it right).

I suggest getting API Stress Coat+, any local fish store should have it, just 1 cap full of the stuff in the tank and you'll be good. It's a water conditioner and a stress reliever and can do wonders!

Your fish looks very very thin. What do you feed it and how often? If you can, I think what's best for him is if you feed him live or (thawed) frozen foods like Glass Worms and Brine Shrimp. The Brine Shrimp shouldn't be fed more then maybe twice a week as it's also a natural laxative. These live or frozen foods are MUCH more nutritious then pellets or flakes and will help him gain weight as well as help him get his fins to regrow. Your local fish store will have these.

Can you fill this out for me? Copy & paste and answer as many questions as you can.

Housing
What size is your tank?
What temperature is your tank?
Does your tank have a filter?
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
Is your tank heated?
What tank mates does your betta fish live with?

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish?
How often do you feed your betta fish?

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change?
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change?
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
When did you start noticing the symptoms?
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
Does your fish have any history of being ill?
How old is your fish (approximately)?

I haven't noticed any stringy poop. I will start feeding him a little more (currently pellets, 2 per day) until this weekend when i can pick up some frozen food for him. Also, I do have freeze dried bloodworms that i stopped giving him months as I heard they may expand when wet inside his stomach..but should I try chopping them up and soaking them before feeding him until I can buy some frozen stuff?

thanks again! here is the info:

Housing
What size is your tank? 2.5 gallons
What temperature is your tank? 80
Does your tank have a filter? no
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? I haven't used the heater this summer as the temp in the water has been 78-82 without it
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? none

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? 2-3 once a day (but I saw your post before I left for work, so I gave him an extra two this morning and he does seem more active today.

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? weekly
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 100%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? amquel/novaqua and aquarium salt

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 0ppm
pH: 7.1
Hardness: i don't have a test for this
Alkalinity: other than the pH, i don't have a test for this

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? fin loss (fin rot seems cured after maracyn but they're short) some facial paleness. His under-chin area looks very white and shiny and gills look very red (but I'm not sure if they always were and it was just less obvious when his facial area was darker). gills look like they might expand unevenly when he breathes.

When did you start noticing the symptoms? when the fin rot started (about 2-3 weeks). then he was also very inactive but this has improved since the maracyn-2 and since i started treating the water.

Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? used maracyn two for fin rot. now just conditioning water and using aquarium salt.

Does your fish have any history of being ill? i'd notice paleness sometimes just before a water change which would dissipate once water changed. Also he started biting his fins for a while back in February but stopped after a week or so.

How old is your fish (approximately)? I got him from the pet store 9 months ago.

Okay, so far you seem to be doing things right. He could have gotten his fin rot because of his tail biting, an infection probably set in and cause the rot.

Since you are done treating the fin rot, what is it you're using the AQS for? It's not needed unless he has an external parasite or disease. I've heard long term use (more then 10 days) can cause the fish to become ill. Maybe I missed a part when rereading if you said any other problems he had.

His fins will not regrow to what they once were, but given time with regular water changes and good food they will regrow. You probably wont notice any growth for a few more weeks.

Bloodworms have no nutritional value and is like chocolate for us. It's used as a treat and shouldn't be fed more then twice a week. During this time right now until you can get frozen Glass Worms and Brine Shrimp it's best to stick to your pellets. He's probably swimming crookedly due to being malnourished, i've seen lots of Bettas like this who turn around quickly with being fed good food correctly. Until you're able to get the frozen foods for him you can feed him 3 in the morning and 2 in the evening so long as he doesn't get bloated, having a bit of a belly though is normal and totally fine so don't worry if he looks a little bit round, it's a good thing.

What brand of pellets are you feeding him? Aqueon and New Life Spectrum are my favorites for Betta food and are some of the best kinds you can get. Some people here also really like Omega One Betta pellets as well since they are also high protein.

I was using the salt because one of the sites I had been looking at recommended it as a preventative measure, but I'll stop using it with my next water change. There's so much conflicting info on the internet- I'm never sure what to follow!

I went to petco for some frozen food, but the salesperson told me not to buy any because it comes in huge pellets that I'd need to break apart..he didn't think I could get them small enough for Fisher's little mouth. I think I'm going to buy some anyway and try breaking it up. I imagine if I can get it into small chunks, I can then take the thawed pieces and cut them into a small enough thing for him to eat, right? I don't care if I have to waste some food, so long as I know he's getting enough nutrition to get better!

In the meantime, I've been upping his food to 5 pellets daily (aqueon) and I've seen improvement (even fin growth- hooray!)...but last night I discovered white, stringy poop after all! Actually, I saw a normal looking poo and also a skinny, white one that was hanging off of him, from under his gill area. So, I guess I should get an anti-parasite. Any recommendations?

On second thought, now I think I may be seeing some columnaris and/or real fungus. He has pooped more and it looks normal, but he has this cottony tuft stuck to his head. It's kind of stringy, almost like he swam through a very stretched out cotton ball. I've tried to get a photo but its such a small patch that it didn't come through.